Chapter 948: Meaning of Existence
From Audrey's point of view, Mr. World's current situation wasn't him
suffering from a mental illness, nor was it close to pushing him to the
state of losing control. It was because his goal in life and the meaning
to his existence had been destroyed. It left him with a psychological
barrier that just needed some guidance. Once she helped him set up a
short-term goal, allowing him to find meaning in life, the problem would
slowly be resolved.
In the serene and silent darkness, Audrey heard Gehrman Sparrow answer
in a deep voice across the wall, "No."
As expected... Audrey wasn't surprised as she asked, "Then did he search
for his family's last words? Did he search for their grave? Did he try
to figure out the reason for the deep sleep?"
The Spirit Body behind the wall seemed to vanish for a few seconds as
there wasn't a single sound. After a moment, the hoarse voice continued:
"No, not yet."
Not yet... That means that it's a possibility in the future? Audrey felt
relieved as she clearly felt that Gehrman Sparrow's emotional state
wasn't as heavy and gloomy as before, without any interest in anything.
He had a certain level of drive and a tiny sense of urgency. He was just
still in a state of confusion.
Taking this opportunity, Audrey cast Placate again. The effects were
much better than before. At the very least, she believed that Mr. World
had used this impetus to escape from the abyss of gloominess and
depression, returning to a normal person's disheartened state.
Following that, Audrey didn't press on regarding how he could find clues
or investigate, because this could bring about some resistance. She
nodded in the dark room in a natural manner and said, "Yes, there are
many things to do, and many things that need amending! Perhaps you will
have the chance of meeting someone from the same bloodline? Perhaps a
family member of his hasn't died from age, or had ended up living to
this day due to some reason? The reason why there's meaning to life is
because of its infinite possibilities.
"In the process of searching, make sure to not miss out on your
surroundings. Life isn't just a one-way street. There are many branches
and alleys. If only the former exists, how boring would it be. You
should know how to approach it, to broaden your horizons, and to
discover..."
Trying hard to recall all the suitable words she read in books, Audrey
suddenly thought of something as her voice softened significantly.
"Also, don't wear that thick mask."
The thinner and transparent ones don't matter because everyone wears a
mask when interacting with others. No one likes to directly express
one's relatively private secrets to others. It's both a way to protect
oneself and also a way to respect others... When Mr. World has a certain
number of friends, a new meaning in life will naturally be formed...
Audrey added inwardly, but she ultimately didn't say it out loud. She
believed that it might even backfire.
Unsurprisingly, Gehrman Sparrow fell silent again, seemingly still in
confusion.
After a few seconds, a voice that wasn't that hoarse sounded again:
"Thank you for straightening me out, and for your treatment."
"No, this is all a result of the strength inside you," Audrey replied
seriously.
She cast a final Placate to confirm that Mr. World's mental state was
back to normal and that it wouldn't relapse.
She then heard Gehrman Sparrow say, "Let's end it here for today, okay?"
Audrey adjusted her tone and briskly replied, "Of course. It's not a
serious problem. I can do another follow-up whenever you're free next
week.
"Also, if it's possible, make some medicine to stabilize your mental
state. Take it for seven consecutive days. The ingredients are 10 grams
of chamomile powder, 5 grams of rosemary powder, 10 milliliters of lemon
balm extract... During this period, don't reduce your consumption of
desserts, and try to relax yourself in an appropriate manner..."
In the dark and silent room, she propped herself against the wall with
her hands and slowly stood up.
At this moment, Gehrman Sparrow's voice passed through the wall:
"What's the consultation fee?"
Audrey held one hand to the wall and turned her head in thought.
"Wait till I get the potion formula for Sequence 5 of the Spectator
pathway. I might need you to help me find the ingredients.
"If the Psychology Alchemists provides me with the ingredients, hmm..."
She curled the ends of her lips and said, "When you return from the
Southern Continent to Backlund, remember to bring me some of the local
produce as a
gift."
A super luxurious and light transportation coffin that's carried by
eight people? On the other side of the wall, Klein had the inexplicable
urge to lampoon. He then stood up while clinging to the wall and sent
Miss Justice back to the real world.
With a wave of his hand, the room vanished. He returned to the seat of
honor at the long bronze table and sat at the seat belonging to The
Fool.
In front of him, there were the Black Emperor, Tyrant, and Red Priest
Cards of Blasphemy on the right. On the left, there was the Creeping
Hunger, which Leonard Mitchell had sent back via Miss Messenger Reinette
Tinekerr.
"I owe Miss Messenger 10,000 gold coins again..." Klein retracted his
gaze and raised his right hand to rub his temples.
To prevent Ince Zangwill from escaping through the spirit world, he had
already communicated with Reinette Tinekerr before he made plans for the
murder. She was in charge of chasing away all the spirit world creatures
around Revival Square, in exchange for that very same 10,000 gold coins.
The only thing that caught him by surprise was that 0-08 was more
terrifying than he imagined. With Ince Zangwill suffering from Deity's
Curse, and with King of Angels Adam having drained it, its first attempt
was able to "attract" an unknown creature which could pass through
Reinette Tinekerr's seal. If not for Daly Simone's forceful spirit
channeling and signing a pact, Ince Zangwill might very well have
escaped.
Of course, while under Deity's Curse, even if Ince Zangwill were to
successfully escape, there was a high chance of him encountering other
misfortunes, such as being thrown by the unknown creature to somewhere
more dangerous or having it directly cause him harm. However, that
wasn't within Klein's control.
At the thought that he was 10,000 gold coins in debt again, Klein felt a
headache, but his mental state was a lot better.
After seeing the cocoon above the gray cloud, and the door of light
beyond the staircase of light, he had suffered a shock that was as
though a river had broken through its banks. He felt that all his
expectations had been shattered. His mature world view, outlook on life,
and values had crumbled as a result, causing his entire being to fall
into a turbid state, as though he were a walking zombie.
Thankfully, he still had the innate desire to live and had sought out
his private psychiatrist, Miss Justice Audrey, in time for treatment.
Phew... Klein exhaled and forced himself to turn his thoughts towards
the cocoons. And from the scene he saw, his first reaction was:
An extremely high-level existence or Sealed Artifact had used different
means to grab a large group of people from Earth at the same moment in
time. Here, there were people who used the luck enhancement ritual,
others bought strange silver plates, or had their phones hit by some
strange virus...
Then, these transmigrators had their souls sealed inside the cocoon and
were left hanging above the door of light, awaiting a particular
opportunity before being sent to the real world.
Based on Klein's observation, the door of light didn't have any
intelligence. It was operating based on pure instinct. This also meant
that as long as the conditions were met, it would catalyze a cocoon and
deliver the soul inside to a specific target's body.
Based on the current circumstances, Klein guessed that there were
probably two conditions that needed to be met.
First, there mustn't be any other transmigrators prior, or the
transmigrator had already been deemed to have failed or died. Second,
the "calling out" of a certain object, item, or ritual. For instance,
Klein Moretti had followed the Antigonus family's notebook to perform
that dark divination.
As for the rest, it's impossible to know. Unless I can find the
corresponding content in Emperor Roselle's diary... Putting together
everything that I know, my current theory should be very close to the
truth. This will make it easy to explain why, despite being from the
same era as the emperor on Earth with less than a year in between us,
our entry into the real world was separated by slightly more than two
hundred years... It's because we transmigrated at the same time, but we
were "released" in different eras! Before entering the real world, who
knows how long we've been asleep for... A brother from next door? Klein
leaned back into his chair as his eyes shimmered before turning gloomy
again.
This was a hypothesis he came up with based on the conditions of the
door of light, his situation, and the emperor's diary.
Of course, this didn't mean that there weren't other possibilities. At
present, Klein was just unable to find evidence to support them. For
example, a cocoon might represent the life of a transmigrator, but this
was in contradiction with Klein's own recovery or the lack of change in
his Spirit Body.
And if his hypothesis wasn't too different from the truth, it meant that
he had left Earth, transmigrating over for at least two hundred years or
even thousands of years. Even if he found the way and method to go back
to Earth, he was unable to return to the place he called home.
Compared to the gap in distance, the barrier of time left him in greater
despair.
This was the reason why it caused Klein's mental state to instantly
collapse. "Returning home" was always his ultimate goal.
Miss Justice is right. There are still many questions to resolve and to
probe... What's the meaning behind hanging so many transmigrators behind
the door of light? What goal does it have? Who set up everything back
then? How many people were pulled in here? Where has the other person
gone to? The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth? Klein tried hard to
engross himself in thinking, so as to find a new goal for the future.
Unfortunately, he was only able to approach the door of light and not
touch it. He was unable to touch it, grasp it, or even carefully inspect
it. He had no means to do any studies to receive any direct information.
I should consider finding clues from the real world... Also, since
reaching Sequence 4 allows me to reach that gray cloud and see the door
of light, will there be another qualitative change at Sequence 2? Will I
be able to gain control over the door of light when that happens,
allowing me to figure out the truth?
Heh heh, I was affected by the Seven Lights, the Goddess, and Arrodes's
attitude. I almost imagined myself to be the real owner of the gray fog,
and believe that I'm some great master above the spirit world. Now, from
the looks of it, I'm just a "test subject" that was randomly thrown
down. Once I fail, the next transmigrator will appear... Klein thought
as he tapped the edge of the long bronze table.
He was rather curious of another point. Three broken "cocoons," with one
representing himself, and another representing the emperor, so who was
the third one?